Aramco Dhahran Attack: Houthi Missiles, Drones Threaten Saudi Energy Hub

Saudi Arabia – (Special Correspondent/Web Desk) – The Aramco Dhahran attack has shaken Saudi Arabia after an administrative building of the state-owned oil company caught fire late on Tuesday. The Energy Ministry said on Wednesday that the fire was limited and that nobody was injured or killed.

The ministry said the authorities reached the site late on Tuesday and took the steps needed to handle the situation. It did not give more details about the damage.

A company source told Reuters that a ballistic missile hit the Aramco headquarters complex in Dhahran, a city in eastern Saudi Arabia. The source said an office tower inside the complex was struck, and its top three floors were damaged.

Two other people who know about the matter also said the building was on fire. Earlier, six sources said they heard loud booms near the complex.

This site is very important to the company. It houses a major operations centre for Aramco. The company manages a huge network of oil rigs on land and at sea, along with pipelines, refineries and export terminals.

The Saudi-led coalition said it had stopped and destroyed a missile over Dhahran. It added that pieces of the missile fell in a residential area, but it gave no further details.

Houthi attacks continue for a week

The Houthis are a group from Yemen that is aligned with Iran. For a week, they have fired ballistic missiles and drones at key sites in Saudi Arabia. They say this is payback for Saudi support of government forces in Yemen’s civil war, which has started up again.

Riyadh’s international airport has been hit four times. An attack on Saturday killed 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in ten years. Other strikes forced flights to stop across the country.

Saudi authorities also said they stopped missiles and drones over Riyadh and the south. In the capital, Civil Defence said debris from two Houthi missiles injured four people. They were two women, a man and a child. The falling pieces caused limited damage to 15 homes.

Before the Aramco Dhahran attack, the Houthis had promised a harsh and painful response to Saudi-led strikes on Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. Their spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said possible targets included the Aramco headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh. The group also told oil workers in Saudi Arabia to stay away from places that could be hit.

On Tuesday evening, the Saudi-led coalition said it had struck the Sabah central station, a fuel depot of the Yemen Petroleum Company on the edge of Sanaa. It said the operation aimed to weaken the Houthis’ ability to threaten Saudi Arabia, Yemen and international sea routes.

The Saudi cabinet, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also warned on Tuesday that the Houthis would face consequences for their repeated attacks. That warning came before the Aramco building was hit.

Why the fight matters

Saudi Arabia restarted its military campaign in Yemen to support the internationally recognised government. It wants to undo the Houthis’ sudden gains last month, when they moved down the Red Sea coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

This narrow waterway is the southern gateway to the Red Sea. It has become even more important for Saudi and global energy supplies since the Iran war began in February, when Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz.

A government offensive launched a week ago pushed the Houthis away from the area closest to the strait. However, the group is still dug in nearby and has made gains around the city of Taiz this month.

Washington, Saudi Arabia’s closest ally, has so far refused to be drawn directly into the war against the Houthis. Riyadh is still asking other allies for support and help with defence against missiles and drones.

Iran has offered to mediate between Riyadh and the Houthis. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said this on Sunday and repeated it in ministry statements on Monday.

The Yemen fighting is a spillover from the wider US-Iran war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks on Iran. The Aramco Dhahran attack is the latest sign that the conflict is spreading across the region.